Rolled mango and lime ice cream

Ripe mango with a dash of lime chopped into a cream base — yellow rolls that taste of tropical fruit.

Rolled ice cream comes from Thailand, and tropical fruit suits it well. Mango has thick, sweet flesh that smears easily on the pan and turns the mix yellow. Lime balances the sweetness of the condensed milk.

Type: Rolled ice cream · Servings: 3 · Difficulty: Moderate

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 120 g whipping cream 33 %
  • 120 g whole milk 3.5 %
  • 90 g sweetened condensed milk (sweetened, from a tube or tin)
  • 20 g granulated sugar (sucrose)
  • 120 g mango (flesh) (flesh of ½ ripe mango, diced)
  • 5 g lime juice (fresh) (1 teaspoon)
  • 60 g mango (flesh) (for topping or folding in at the end, diced)

Making the mix

  1. Whisk the cream, milk and condensed milk (plus the sugar or vanilla, if the recipe has them) until smooth — don’t whip it into a foam; the mix should stay liquid.
  2. Peel the mango, cut the flesh into small cubes and sprinkle with the lime juice. Keep in the fridge.
  3. Put the mix in the freezer for 30 minutes or in the fridge for at least an hour — the colder it is, the faster it sets on the pan.

Method — Ice pan for rolled ice cream

  1. Take the ice pan or tray out of the freezer only just before you start and set it on a dry tea towel so it doesn’t slide. Have two flat metal scrapers and all the add-ins ready.
  2. Pour about a third of the mix (about 130–150 ml) onto the pan. Add a third of the mango and chop it right into the mix with the edges of the scrapers until it starts to thicken.
  3. Quickly spread the mix into a thin, even layer 2–3 mm thick, in a rectangle about as wide as a scraper.
  4. Let the layer set — 2–5 minutes on a home ice pan. It is ready when the surface stops being glossy and the layer is firm but still flexible.
  5. Slide a scraper under the edge of the layer at an angle of about 45° and push it firmly away from you — the layer curls into a roll. Transfer the rolls straight into a glass or bowl.
  6. Return the pan to the freezer for at least 20 minutes until it is cold again, then make the next portion. Keep the mix in the fridge in the meantime.

Professional pans are cooled by a compressor to about −30 °C and a portion is done in 2 minutes. A home ice pan with a cooling gel or a tray from the freezer only reaches about −18 to −20 °C and warms up quickly — hence a small portion, a thin layer and fast work. Freeze the pan according to the manufacturer’s instructions; a tray for at least 12–24 hours in the coldest part of the freezer. On a tray the layer often won’t set on the worktop: in that case spread it out, put the tray back in the freezer for 10–20 minutes and only then roll. Don’t scratch a non-stick surface with a metal scraper.

Total time: 1 h 35 min

Stages

Preparation
10 min
Cooling
30 min
Processing in the machine
15 min
Freezing
40 min
Total time
1 h 35 min

Serving and storage

Put the rolls in a glass, top with mango cubes and, if you like, a little grated lime zest. Serve straight away.

Not for storing — thin rolls stick together, harden and frost over in the freezer. Eat them straight away. Unused liquid mix keeps, covered, in the fridge until the next day.

Tips

  • Stringy mango is hard to chop. Choose ripe, soft, fragrant fruit, or blend the flesh into a purée beforehand.
  • Add the lime juice only to the mango, not to the base — the acid could curdle the cream and milk.
  • Out of season, frozen diced mango will do — just let it soften slightly.
  • The most common mistake is a thick layer or a pan that isn’t cold enough: the mix then won’t set, and when you start rolling it tears. Better a smaller portion and a thinner layer.

Sources